


what do aliens eat?

by TheQueenInTheNorth



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, one shot for now but may add on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:56:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26238973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenInTheNorth/pseuds/TheQueenInTheNorth
Summary: Fitz is used to Alya's slew of imaginary friends. Monkeys, unicorns, mermaids... The aliens come as no surprise. The familiar names do, however.
Relationships: Alya Fitz & Jemma Simmons, Kasius & Sinara (Marvel), Leo Fitz & Alya Fitzsimmons
Comments: 29
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

Fitz smiled at the hurried patter of bare feet coming closer. Alya loved playing out in the garden but she never made it long before she found something she wanted to show her parents.

“Da!”she yelled, barely skidding to a halt in time, grabbing onto the doorframe to stop herself from sliding down the hallway with the rug.“Da, what do aliens eat?”

He’d been expecting her to have caught a beetle but that question wasn’t any more out of the ordinary, really.“Depends on the alien, monkey.”

“What do they eat that we have here?”she asked, crossing over to inspect the fridge.“Can they have sandwiches? Can you make us sandwiches?”

Ah, a new imaginary friend. He vaguely wondered whether the mermaid would make a return but they’d had a falling out over whether or not it was okay to eat the talking fish - also imaginary, though not forever, if Alya had anything to say about it.

“Sure thing, little monkey.” He marked the page in his book and joined her by the fridge.“Will you share one?”

She shook her head rapidly.“No, we need lots, Kasius is really hungry and -”

“Kasius?”Fitz repeated, much sharper than he meant to.

Alya appeared happily oblivious to his tone, though.“Yes, Daddy, he’s really hungry. He said they were about to have dinner before they fell through the hole.”

“What hole?”Fitz asked. It didn’t really matter where she’d made up he’d come from but he was still wracking his brains on where she might have heard the name and he could hardly just stand there and stare at her.

Alya rolled her eyes and threw up her hands.“Ugh, Da! A wormhole, of course.” She turned back to the fridge and got on tiptoes.“Can we get the food now? Do you think they can have strawberries? Sinara likes thon berries but I don't know what they are. Do you know what they are?”

“No, I don’t,”Fitz said and grabbed the bread, mind racing.

Who and when and why had discussed the Kree in Alya’s hearing? Or had she somehow managed to get into S.H.I.E.L.D. files? She was getting very good at reading and Daisy had shown her the basics of hacking just a fortnight ago…

He went through the process of making a platter of snacks mechanically, Alya alternately urging him to hurry up and changing her mind about what they should offer her newfound friends to eat.

Fitz startled when he heard a faint knock on the terrace door and then a timid voice call,“Alya?”

“Ugh! You took too long,”Alya complained and grabbed a sandwich to head back outside.

Fitz hurried after her, dreading what he might find outside. Whomever was in his garden was clearly not imaginary.

“My da’s slow but I promise the sandwich is tasty,”Alya announced as she rounded the corner, Fitz hot on her heels.

And there, just outside his living room, stood two aliens that were far too non-imaginary for his liking.

They were small, and blue, and wide-eyed, and so very small. They couldn’t be much older than Alya, really.

“Good day,”the boy said, in the same cautious tone, and tried to step towards Fitz. The girl grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, eyeing Fitz suspiciously. The boy didn’t try very hard to get loose and the smile he offered Fitz was pretty shaky.“You must be Alya’s father. I’m Prince Kasius of Hala and this is Sinara. Thank you for the food.”

“No problem,”Fitz said. He really didn’t know what else to say.

They were retired, for God’s sake! Couldn’t wormholes spit future tyrannical alien overlords into the garden of active agents?!


	2. Chapter 2

Fitz watched as Alya set down the plate on the coffee table and plucked cushions off the couch so they could serve as seats, gesturing for the Kree to come sit.

They both kept throwing wary glances towards Fitz; Sinara’s hand was still wrapped around Kasius’ wrist, the other now clasping his upper arm as they slowly crossed the room to join Alya. It was hard to tell whether she was trying to reassure him or herself.

Alya was chatting on happily. Fitz was trying to sort his thoughts enough to decide whether to go to the basement and fetch Jemma from their lab, or just stick his head in the hall and shout for her.

Leaving Alya alone with the Kree - the thought alone scared him. But then again, she had been alone with them in the garden, and they knew nothing of the hypothetical future where Kasius ruled the remnants of humanity.

Jemma ought to get a heads-up. Fitz himself only knew the Kree from the team’s stories and he was shaken; he could barely imagine what it would be like for Jemma.

“I’ll get the rest of the food,”Fitz said. He would. He’d get his wife first.

“And drinks,”Alya requested. She didn’t even look at him, too focussed on watching Kasius inspect his sandwich. Sinara took a cautious nibble of hers. Alya smiled.“What do you want to drink?”

“Water?”Sinara said, softly and uncertainly, shoulders drawn up slightly, as if Alya might take the offer back if she gave the wrong answer.

“Well,”Kasius said and sniffed his sandwich,“I’ll have some fruit juice. Whichever kind you have.”

“We have black currant,”Alya said.“Da, get us black currant, please.”

“Sinara will have some too,”Kasius added, squeezing the girl’s hand where it was still clamped around his arm.

Fitz only gave a curt nod before hurrying from the room and down to the lab.

Jemma looked up at him in surprise as he entered.“Is it dinner time already?”

“I wish,”Fitz said, pulling the door not quite closed behind him. Just in case Alya shouted for them.

He explained as quickly yet gently as he could, Jemma’s eyes widening with every word he said, her mouth hanging slightly open by the end of it.

“Say something,”he urged when they had just stood there for a full five seconds.

“But,”Jemma said.“We’re retired! Couldn’t this happen to an active agent?”

Fitz threw up his hands.“I know, right?”

Jemma sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.“Let’s go upstairs. I don’t like the idea of Alya alone with them.”

“I’ll just get the food from the kitchen,”Fitz said.

Jemma just nodded, heading for the living room herself.

* * *

Alya was absolutely fine, Jemma was relieved to find. The two kids sat across from her - oh, how she had hoped Fitz had exaggerated just how tiny they were - looked up at her with wide eyes.

The girl dropped what little was left of her sandwich on the table to grab the boy. It was hard to reconcile with the threatening presence she had once been - would once be? Ugh. Jemma hated time travel.

“Mama!”Alya exclaimed, giving her a bright smile.“This is Kasius and Sinara and Da is bringing us black currant and sandwiches.” She turned back to the Kree.“My mummy is the smartest person in the whole of everything. She can get you back to your mummies, no problem.”

That was not met with the excitement Alya clearly expected but with a long, uncomfortable silence.

“My mummy is dead,”Kasius mumbled eventually.

“Oh.” Alya’s shoulders slumped.“Back to your dad, then?”

Kasius seemed to fold in on himself at that suggestion, staring at the floor.“Father’s probably happy I’m gone.”

Sinara glared at Alya, and Jemma hurried to her daughter’s side, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her protectively. Right now, Sinara might just be a little kid but that did not mean Jemma had forgotten what she was capable of. Who knew how young they started training.

“I don’t have a momma or a papa,”Sinara said, jutting her chin out defiantly.

“You have Krenyk,”Kasius offered softly, placing a hand on Sinara’s shoulder.

She gave up on glaring at Alya to look down at Kasius’ hand with bewilderment. She didn’t shrug it off but she did grumble,“He’s my guardian, not my papa.”

Alya snuggled into Jemma’s side, watching the exchange with a frown on her face. She was trying to puzzle out her own misstep, probably. She had her parents, most of her grandparents, and many aunts and uncles. It probably had never occurred to her before that the same wasn’t true for everyone.

“That’s basically the same thing,”Kasius said.“Anyways, he’ll want you back, at least.”

Sinara pursed her lips and mulled that over. Then she patted Kasius’ hand before shrugging it off, after all.“Krenyk will want you back, too.”

“I suppose so,”Kasius said, brightening up considerably. He gave Jemma a polite smile.“My apologies, that was terribly rude of us. I’m Prince Kasius of Hala and this is Sinara, ward to General Krenyk.”

As if they were supposed to know who that was.

“I’m Jemma,”Jemma said and tried not to remember telling him so before, when he had towered over her and held her life in his hands. She clutched Alya tighter.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Jemma,”he said, then nudged Sinara in what he probably thought was a subtle manner until she muttered some niceties, too. Satisfied that he’d shown off their manners, Kasius added,“May I ask where you acquired such a prodigious skill set on Terra?”

She couldn’t get out words, suddenly.

“You’re squeezing me too much, Mama!”Alya complained, wriggling to escape her grip.

Jemma crushed the urge down to pull her right back.“I’m sorry, darling. I just -”

She was saved from coming up with an end to that sentence by Fitz entering with a huge tray filled with various snacks, distracting the children.

The Kree were almost unduly fascinated with the Ribena juice boxes and Alya took great pride in showing them how to insert the straws.

“Are you alright?”Fitz asked quietly.

Jemma swallowed hard.“I’m going to call Daisy.”

They definitely needed backup.


End file.
